WASHINGTON — The Democratic National Committee and several top Democratic leaders filed a lawsuit Monday against former President Donald Trump and federal agencies over an executive order that would impose sweeping new federal regulations on elections, calling it an unlawful overreach of presidential authority.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenges Executive Order 14248, signed by Trump on March 25. The order, titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” mandates new voter ID requirements, restricts mail-in ballots, and threatens to withhold federal funding from states that do not comply.
The plaintiffs include the DNC, Democratic Governors Association, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. They argue the order infringes on the Constitution’s delegation of election oversight to Congress and the states.
Click here to read the entire lawsuit.
“The executive order is an unprecedented and unconstitutional attempt to seize control over how elections are run,” the plaintiffs wrote in the complaint. “It threatens to disenfranchise millions of eligible voters and dismantle the decentralized election system our democracy depends on.”
Among the key provisions of Trump’s order is a requirement that individuals provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote. Democrats argue this would disproportionately affect military members stationed overseas, married women who have changed their names, and voters in low-income or rural communities.
The order also bars states from counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day, regardless of when they were mailed, and instructs federal agencies to share personal voter data with the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. The lawsuit alleges this data-sharing lacks statutory authority and endangers voter privacy.
Trump’s executive order further threatens to cut federal funding to states that do not adopt the new regulations, a move Democrats say amounts to coercion.
Democrats are also pushing back on criticism that their opposition to voter ID requirements undermines election integrity. They contend that voter ID laws disproportionately burden minority, elderly, and low-income voters. In the lawsuit, they reiterated their support for allowing voters to cast ballots without government-issued ID, arguing that alternative methods of verifying eligibility—such as sworn affidavits or utility bills—are sufficient.
The Biden-appointed U.S. Attorney General has not publicly commented on the lawsuit, and Trump has dismissed the legal challenge as “election interference by radical leftists.”
The lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent the executive order from being enforced ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections. A hearing date has not yet been set.
